While We’re Waiting… Counting on Little, breaking down Barnes and reliving history

While We’re Waiting serves as the early morning gathering of WFNY-esque information for your viewing pleasure. Have something you think we should see? Send it to our tips email at tips@waitingfornextyear.com.

Browns are basically all in on Greg Little- “Most Browns fans feel Little can be a fine NFL receiver, but not all outside the Browns’ front office consider him a sure-fire top tier receiver. However, Little has shed 11 pounds and the Browns are hoping one year of experience will help him to become one of the top receivers in the league. For Little, 2011 was more about feeling comfortable as a receiver and re-learning the position.

“I’ve seen him look a lot quicker, a lot more sudden,” Browns’ Head Coach Pat Shurmur said during June’s minicamp. “To this point he’s caught the ball at a much more consistent rate. He just looks like a different guy to me—a guy who’s been through it once.” Little (6-2, 219) didn’t play his final year at North Carolina because he accepted gifts from an agent. Because he wasn’t part of the football team, he spent all of his time in the weight room trying to get stronger.” [Greetham/The OBR]

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“Regardless of what you believe Paterno knew in terms of specificity to Sandusky’s actions, it’s generally agreed he was given clues. After McQueary told him of the shower incident – and it doesn’t even matter what exact words he used, though they were important enough to be discussed at night at the head coach’s kitchen table – Paterno only passed the information along to Curley and Schultz. He never pushed the investigation further. He never even bothered to figure out who the kid was, and Sandusky was a Penn State locker room regular up until the week of his arrest over nine years later.

Adjacent to those unfortunate presumptions from Krzyzewski and Vitale are the outraged opinions – probably like yours, mine and anyone with a shred of decency – that more should have been done. Hindsight just never fails to impress.” [Ramzy/Eleven Warriors]

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“With the obvious disclaimer that I am just another in a long line of amateur psychologists who happen to be sports fans, I have a theory as to why Barnes play didn’t translate at North Carolina like many assumed it would. The same aspects of his self-awareness and inability to shield himself from the constant analysis of his strengths and shortcomings and ebbs and flows of his draft stock led to a style of play that can be described as self-conscious and scared. He knew everyone wanted him to be the go-to scorer and to live up to the hype as a transcendent scorer, and it led him to force things that weren’t there. He was playing with several other players who are likely to be first round picks, and it caused him to hesitate about putting the team on his back, and it led to awkward offense. In other words, I just don’t think he was ever comfortable, and I don’t think he ever played instinctively, and I don’t think he was ever able to get out of his own head and let the game come to him.” [Zavac/Fear the Sword]

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Latrell Sprewell only qualifies as a role player?? 4 time all star and one first team all nba, what did he ever do to anyone to deserve that slight?

dwhit110

Besides choke his coach?

Kidding, you’re right. At the very least he’s a solid starter, and you could make a case that he should be listed alongside Sam I Am.

http://twitter.com/cpmack Chris M

“what did he ever do to anyone to deserve that slight?”

/chokes PJ Carlesimo
//Turns down $21 million because it’s not enough to feed kids

Tron

I’d even throw derek fisher into the “solid starter” category. Maybe not right now, but he was a starter on a couple championship teams

Harv 21

I saw that, too. Sprewell was close to an unstoppable scorer in his prime. Not sure how he messed that one up.

Harv 21

One thing I know from decades of NFL watching: the most unreliable preseason report is the supposed improvement of a wide receiver. Even early preseason games, against fringe players and basic defenses, result in false positives, never mind OTAs in shorts. Last time we heard this was Delhomme and Mangini talking about Robiskie’s big jump two years ago. I like Little, and it’s very nice that he’s lost weight, etc. But we’ll see if he’s significantly improved when regular season games start.

boomhauertjs

Even if Little improves, he’s always going to be double-teamed because the other receivers are so terrible.
Not too many busts on that #24 list. At this point, the Cavs can afford very few busts.

eldaveablo

I think an equally unreliable preseason story is about [player] who lost/gained weight in the offseason and is expecting a breakout year because of it.

Believe me when I say I'm a big fan of Matthew Dellavedova. Probably the biggest fan of his of the folks who regularly comment here. But in no way do I think the reason that Delly can't rack up assists is because LeBron controls the ball. I've seen enough games without LeBron to come to […]